Black Love Is Forever…or, The Institutions We Build

When I was younger and choosing where to go to college, I knew I was going to go to a women’s college. Never a doubt in my mind.

Seminary was different. It happened through a series of coincidental events that ending up at Earlham seems like it was meant to be. Yet, much as Earlham seems like it was meant to be, one of my biggest regrets is that I did not try harder to get into Howard Divinity School.

Why?  Because I wouldn’t have had to fight as hard.

Don’t misunderstand; ESR was good for me in a lot of ways. I love the friends I have from there. I still keep in touch with some of my professors. But two people kept me from dropping out: Dr. James S. Logan (Earlham College professor who taught my intro to theology class at ESR), and Mr. Bob Hunter (who had been a national racial justice coordinator for Intervarsity). Two Black men who cared about me and for me while I was in Richmond. For all those two did for me, it would have been a different situation at Howard. There is a holistic-ness that Howard would have provided.

I think about historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and the Black Church a lot. So when Robert Smith and his family pledged $40million to pay off the debt of the 396 graduates at Morehouse College this year, I couldn’t help but think about the institutions we build.

HBCUs and the Black Church are sustained out of love. It is a love born out of struggle and defined by hope. And, even with their issues, HBCUs and the Black Church offer a place where the diversity of the African diaspora can be seen its fullness and wholeness. Where people can see that different does not mean deficient.

I think of BLUU (Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism for my non-UU readers) the same way. Born out of struggle, defined by hope. Sustained out of love. And, hopefully, where Black UUs and UU-adjacent  people can see the diversity of the African diaspora reflected in its fullness and wholeness.

I’m writing this as my six-month-old cousin sleeps about three feet from where I’m typing. And I can’t help but be grateful for the love of those who established those HBCUs and Black churches all those years ago. Places that, when the time comes, can offer the baby a place where they can be fully themselves.

 

For a list of historically Black colleges and universities, you can find that list here.

 

Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Thoughts on Black Maternity)

At the end of 2017, I did a series of posts about the Black maternal mortality rate. With the CDC’s releasing new numbers about the U.S. maternal mortality rate, it seems like a good time to revisit the subject.

According to the CDC, the maternal mortality rate for white women is 12.5 per 100,000 births.

For Black women, the maternal mortality rate is 42.8 per 100,000 births.  That’s three-and-a-half times higher. This is not a new phenomenon; the disparity has been known about for almost four decades.

Now…the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of all the OECD countries, regardless of race. Also, the U.S. is the only OECD country where the maternal mortality rate is going up. But the Black maternal mortality rate is on par with many countries that are classified as “developing.”

What would it look like if the lives of pregnant Black people were taken seriously? Or if the country treated this as the healthcare crisis it actually is? (yes…I know about the two bills in Congress. you know what I mean.)

Mother’s Day is hard for a lot of people. And many preachers stumble over what to say from the pulpit on the day. If I may make a suggestion it would be to focus on this. There is no reason for the church to be silent in the face of people dying from things that, at least the data says, should be preventable. For those of us who are scripture-based, maternal mortality is a shadow throughout many of the stories of children and inheritance. For those who are less scripture-based, there are many stories of death in pregnancy/childbirth/post-partum that could be explored.

I can’t convey in words how important this is to me. Yet I know I will write about it again.

 

(to read more about the new CDC numbers, you can go here. for info about the two bills in Congress, you can go here. general info is here.)